He was appointed to this role in 2000 to restructure, re-energize and re-develop the organization; since that time he has devoted his extensive fundraising, educational advocacy and leadership talents to successfully elevating the profile of the organization and revitalizing its presence across Canada.

Criticism of Israel by organizations like Oxfam has reached a fevered pitch; the unparalleled hysteria is all the more apparent when cross-referenced with truly horrific and tragic world events which fail to garner similar attention. The irrational intent of this anti-Israel mania undermines humanitarian and peacemaking objectives.

And as we strive to enter the commonwealth of civilized nations, perhaps it is high time we rethink our policies of arming Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and smuggling weapons to Hamas in Gaza, which poses a threat to Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.

If a Canadian incites hatred against an identifiable group in public and advocates murder or genocide, does that constitute a hate crime? If the incitement is against, for example, the gay, black or aboriginal community should criminal charges be laid? What if the incitement is against the Jewish community, is there a difference?

This week marked an important turning point in Ontario's awareness of determined and well-funded efforts to undermine the values and conceptual underpinnings of Canadian society by groups hoping to import a toxic and foreign ideology to our nation. Nowhere was this effort more evident than the staging of the "Al Quds Day" rally, held for the past two years on the grounds of Queen's Park. Supporters of a genocidal theocracy which aims to fundamentally reshape western democracies by exporting the values of Shariah law should not and do not have to receive the blessing of the state to exercise this right. The fundamental values cherished by all Canadians must not be discarded so cavalierly, with the acquiescence of our government and the permission of our laws.

Rock throwing. Beatings. Bullets. Shouts of "F----ing kike." Ambushes. Theft. Threats. Tear gas attacks. This is not history. This is today. The French Jewish community expects and deserves a far greater degree of respect, as well as a strategic response to the blatant anti-Semitism they are experiencing.

As has been widely reported in the past 24 hours, 68-year-old bus monitor Karen Klein suffered a malicious verbal attack by a group of grade seven students on a school bus. Klein's refusal to interact with the bullies may yet become a wake-up call for society -- in much the same way Rosa Parks' refusal to move to the back of the bus was at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

Wednesday's revelation of Peter MacKay's support for the state of Israel demonstrates the strength of this principle of friendship among nations. His statement that a threat to Israel is a threat to Canada was a powerful declaration to a friend -- and to the world -- that Canada can be counted on.

Young people really do know it all. They are optimistic, enthusiastic and passionate about making the world a better place. Their reflections were magical at the first annual Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center's Speakers Idol.

Thursday is Holocaust Remembrance Day. While governments knew about the Holocaust, many kept the details hidden from their citizens. Had the digital age existed and had enough individuals been encouraged by mass social activism, one hopes the outcome would have been different.

Today's slaughter of the Rabbi and children in France should be a wake-up call for all individuals and institutions who have yet to take modern expressions of antisemitism seriously. It was an attack on the heart and soul of the Jewish community in France reverberating around the world.

The universities profess to be the guardians of free speech but are aiding and abetting the increasingly toxic environment on campuses by providing public space to speakers who are divisive and hateful.

The question of Section 13 of Canada's Human Rights Act (CHRA) dealing with hate speech has come to a head over the case of Marc Lemire, who was the last president of the neo-Nazi white supremacist group, Heritage Front, and is now a webmaster of a controversial site created in the name of free speech.

Since Syrian crimes can be classified as "crimes against humanity" especially because they are state policy, why has Right to Protect not been invoked by the international community nor has reasonable action been undertaken by the Security Council and the ICC? The answer is simple: politics and personal interest.
Without exception, it is believed that the atrocities committed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime are far worse than those of Muammar Gaddafi. The UN estimates more than 3,500 people have been murdered; tens of thousands have vanished and are believed to be incarcerated.

Many Israelis are asking themselves how they could release so many Palestinians who carried out or were involved in violent terrorist activities. Would they return with a renewed vengeance? Will the release of one Israeli soldier result in future Israeli civilian and military casualties? Will more Israeli soldiers be kidnapped?

Like Yom Kippur of 1973, we are in an emergency situation. While Israel's enemies continue to plan war against the state or fund terrorism from a distance, others are warring against Israel from across continents.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas missed an opportunity to gain the confidence of Israel and international Jewry by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. Instead, Abbas achieved the exact opposite. He took every opportunity to defame Israel and label it a criminal state on the world stage.

In announcing the Ottawa Protocol to Combat Anti-Semitism, Foreign Minister John Baird expressed Canada's unequivocal support for the State of Israel. Canada's stance on Israel is based on the principle of standing by your friends -- especially when they are democracies and advocates for human rights.

The Palestinians, Avigdor Lieberman said, have rebuffed every offer given to them for an independent state, and like many Israelis, Lieberman believes that everything has been tried and that Israel must "change its concept entirely." What that concept might be will depend on what happens at the UN this week.